e give to the word. What shall we think, then, of what Catholics do
to show honor to Saints, to relics, to the wood of the cross? They will
not deny that their acts of reverence, in such cases, are very much like
those by which they pay outward honor to God. But have they the same ideas
about the Saints, the relics and the cross as they have about God? I
believe that we cannot fairly accuse them of it."

A gentleman who was present at the unveiling of Clay's statue in the city
of Richmond informed me that as soon as the curtain was uplifted, and the
noble form of the Kentucky statesman appeared in full view, the immense
concourse of spectators instinctively uncovered their heads. "Why do you
take off your hat?" playfully remarked my friend to an acquaintance who
stood by. "In honor, of course, of Henry Clay," he replied. "But Henry is
not there in the flesh. You see nothing but _clay_." "But my intention,
sir," he continued, "is to do honor to the original." He answered
correctly. And yet how many of the same people would be shocked if they
saw a man take off his hat in the presence of a statue of St. Peter! It is
not, therefore, the making of the image, but its worship, that is
condemned by the Decalogue.

Having seen the lawfulness of sacred images, let us now consider the
advantages to be derived from their use.

First--_Religious paintings embellish the house of God._ What is more
becoming than to adorn the church, which is the shadow of the heavenly
Jerusalem, so beautifully described by St. John?(276) Solomon decorated
the temple of God with images of cherubim and other representations. "And
he overlaid the cherubim with gold. And all the walls of the temple round
about he carved with divers figures and carvings."(277) If it was meet and
proper to adorn Solomon's temple, which contained only the Ark of the
Lord, how much more fitting is it to decorate our churches, which contain
the Lord of the Ark? When I see a church tastefully ornamented it is a
sure sign that the Master is at home, and that His devoted subjects pay
homage to Him in His court.

What beauty, what variety, what charming pictures are presented to our
view in this temple of nature which we inhabit! Look at the canopy of
heaven. Look at the exquisite pictures painted by the Hand of the Divine
Artist on this earth. "Consider the lilies of the field.... I say to you
that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these." If
the temple